Wildfire threatens more homes near Ellensburg

Homes along Ellensburg Ranches Road, West of Ellensburg, have a view of the Snag Canyon Fire, seen from I-90 on Monday in Thorp. According to Josh Hink, Deputy Fire Marshal for Kittitas County, these two homes and the barn in the middle are a safe distance away from this fire, which has already burned 1,848 acres north of Ellensburg. The home at right was rebuilt after 2012’s Taylor Bridge Fire destroyed the original, Hink said. (Photo by Ken Lambert / The Seattle Times) More photos

ELLENSBURG, Wash. — Firefighters worked overnight into Monday morning trying to contain a spreading wildfire that has burned about a dozen residences and threatens 180 more about 10 miles north of Ellensburg, on the east side of the Cascades about 100 miles east of Seattle.

A spokesman for fire managers, Nick Cronquist, says the Snag Canyon Fire was started Saturday by lightning and has burned just under 3 square miles of grass, brush and some trees. That’s about half the size of an earlier estimate.

It’s unknown if the houses that burned were full-time residences or summer cabins. Residents of the 180 threatened homes have been advised to prepare to evacuate or to leave. There have been no reports of injuries.

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